Abrupt reduction of FD interest leaves senior citizens in a quandary – by Sunil Thenabadu in Brisbane  Under the strict instructions of the Governor of the Central Bank all State and commercial banks have delivered an intense executioner strike abruptly to all the senior citizens under the DDR/DDO by drastically reducing the interest rates on  fixed deposits which have been slashed alarmingly to between 10 -12% from the month of June 2023. The interest rates were enhanced to 23 -27% by the banks in the middle part of 2022, probably mainly to attract more deposits to bank coffers. With this increase many senior citizens who were fortunate to hold fixed deposits were able to some extent to make ends meet without pleading for donations or borrowings. Even then they had not lived in a luxury life which all senior citizens of developed countries are privileged to live in. It is learnt that ...

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Sri Lanka’s Recovery – By Dr Tilak S Fernando Sri Lanka was in a severe economic catastrophe before the IMF came to a rescue with $2.5 billion. President endeavoured to clear the fuel station queues and people lining up at gas stations for petrol & kerosine. Unfortunately, the opposition parties did not assist the Ranil Wickremasinghe Government. However, credit should go to President Ranil Wickremasinghe for evading a complete collapse of the economy. IMF loan is not a happy occasion to celebrate with a “kiri bath” (a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice and Coconut) and crackers. At least, Sri Lankans should treat this as a life-saving move for the country as it serves as a breathing space for Sri Lanka. Bankruptcy Sri Lanka failed to pay the overseas commitments in April 2023, and the nation was declared bankrupt. This was significantly due to reduced expatriate income from $437 million ...

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Sri Lanka participated in COP. 27 & current news. – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Website: www.Doctorharold.com SL successfully concludes the second round of talks with creditors: President Ranil Wickremasinghe meets UN Secretary-General President Ranil delivered a direct speech at the sessions. COP27: Sri Lanka proposes the world’s first International Climate Change University ‘Democracy Gold Award’ was awarded to Mr R. Sambandhan Former opposition leader and Member of Parliament Mr R Sambandhan received the ‘Democracy Gold Award’, given only once in a lifetime to a senior political figure who dedicates himself to securing democracy. Thieves broke into the official residence of the Thai ambassador Looming food shortage and farmers’ woes Sri Lankan people in need of emergency aid has doubled – UN COLOMBO (News 1st) – State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said Sri Lanka’s second round of discussions with creditors concluded successfully. The State Minister added that Sri Lanka has ...

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Demise of Pushparanee Kaasipillai Jeyaratnam Formerly of Central Bank of Sri Lanka & Beloved Sister of Ken Navaratnam Former Station Manager of Air Lanka   Dear All – It is with a deep sense of sadness Yasmin & I learnt the demise of Pushparanee Jeyaratnam fondly known as Pushpa  formerly of Central Bank of Sri Lanka and beloved Sister of Ken [Kasi] Navaratnam former Station Manager of Air Lanka Oman. Pushpa was very well  known to our family whilst she was domiciled in Colombo 6 as my youngest demised sister Annette, her two young sons & Mother in Law moved there from Point Pedro. My BIL Rajan was  attached to Bank of Oman & Bahrain Kuwait in Oman at that time. Pushpa was a  friendly personality, pleasant, humble & always with a smile and huge heart. Our family will remember and  cherish her kindness always.  We pray that the Divine & Merciful Lord will ...

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Blue Ocean & Link Engineering continue to ascend with a strong focus on growth and diversification  The Construction & Real Estate sector at present The construction industry has always been a key player and contributor to the GDP of the nation with nearly 7.1/% in growth. Over a million workers are employed in the construction sector at present. The skies haven’t always been rosy. Dealing with the many hurdles that the war in Ukraine & subsequent fuel, energy and material crisis has thrown at the global economy, the construction and real estate sector too has undergone stifling challenges that have caused many smaller players to drop out of the game. Many others have developed a high risk“hit and run” approach with their projects due to the scarcity of resources which poses a significant threat to the safety and the wellbeing of their customers and the public in general. But a ...

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Sri Lanka Progress – By Dr Harold Gunatillake Website: www.Doctorharold.com Transcript: Protest marches are a daily occurrence Gota, Ranil, and others working with consistence *Colombo has taken steps to raise taxes, put state assets on sale and pledged to slash spending to the “bare bones”. *Sri Lanka makes progress toward IMF support – but no bailout package Support through Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is possible Nandalal Weerasinghe was appointed CBSL Governor for Six more years. The International Monetary Fund has ended talks with Sri Lanka, failing to conclude a deal for a bailout package for the near-bankrupt nation after ten days. The IMF has said Sri Lanka needs to whittle down existing debt to ‘sustainable’ levels before receiving any aid. “The discussions will continue virtually to reach a staff-level agreement on the EFF arrangement in the near term,” the IMF said, referring to the credit arrangement, called an extended fund facility. ...

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Message to Sri Lankans living abroad from Dr. P Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka source:cbsl.gov.lk Currently Sri Lanka is facing social, economic and financial distress creating hardships to its people due to the long lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, global political imbalances and macroeconomic imbalances of the country. Although the authorities are taking measures to address the above situation of the country, including taking steps to actively manage its debt obligations, finding immediate financial assistance from other nations and progressing at the discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a comprehensive programme, the positive impacts of such measures will benefit the people only in the medium to long term. Therefore, urgent measures are needed to enhance the foreign reserve position of the country to meet its day-to-day essential imports including food, fuel and medicine.  In this background, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) ...

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Sri Lanka Progress talks IMF Bailing Out Details – By Dr Harold Gunathilake Website: www.Doctorharold.com Transcript: Wickremesinghe requested that the staff-level delegation from financial institutions visit Colombo as soon as possible to finalise the staff-level agreement. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has urged IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva to send a team to Colombo “as soon as possible” so that a staff-level agreement could be finalised as his cash-starved government is seeking to find USD 6 billion to keep the country afloat for the next six months. During his talks with the IMF Managing Director on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe “requested that the staff-level delegation from the IMF visit Sri Lanka as soon as possible so that the staff-level agreement could be finalised,” online portal news first. Lk reported on Wednesday, quoting a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Media Division. The statement said that Georgieva expressed her willingness to support Sri Lanka ...

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Sri Lanka-current 27th May 2022 – By Dr Harold Gunatillake *Sri Lanka PM to take over as finance minister too. Ali Sabry, previous finance minister, resigns *Wickremesinghe will present an interim budget within six weeks that will slash government expenditure ‘to the bone’. *The PM is seeking $4bn from the IMF, China and Japan to pay for food and fuel even as he slashes the budget to ‘bare bones’. *Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa Appeals for Bridging Finance in TokyoLanka has run out of money to pay for food, fuel, medicines and other daily need. *Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices, hires financial and legal advisers *Sri Lanka’s inflation increased by 20-24 per cent Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will take charge as finance minister, the president’s office has announced. It will lead talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the crisis-hit nation seeks a bailout. “Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn ...

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News In Sri Lanka – by Dr harold Gunatillake   Website: doctorharold.com Transcript: Bringing the most important latest news to your doorstep “If the ongoing protests diminish through fatigue and fail to monitor Wickremasinghe, Lanka’s fall into the abyss will not only be inevitable but extremely painful as well”. Sasanka Perera-Professor of Sociology and Dean of Social Sciences at South Asian University, New Delhi. In his first interview since taking office, Mr Wickremesinghe told the BBC he would ensure families get three meals a day. Appealing to the world for more financial help, he said, “there won’t be a hunger crisis; we will find food”. The new PM described the Sri Lankan economy as “broken”, but he said his message to Sri Lankans was to “be patient; I will bring things back”. Sri Lanka’s political and socio-economic disaster turned into deadly combat between the progovernment thugs with the backing of Mahinda ...

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